Carton construction



BEST AVAILABLEcom W. H?. ENMN CARTON CONSTRUCTION Jam, 35i, E939.,

2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Nov. 14, 1936 INVENTOR.

BEST AVAILABLE COPY W. H. HMM/AN EQMZE CARTON CONSTRUCTION jan., 39 E939,

Filed Nov. 14, 1936 amanti EST AVAILABLE COPY STATES UNITED PATENT FFQE CARTON CONSTRUC'IIN Application November 14, 1936, Serial No. 110,898

5 Claims.

This invention relates to cartons, receptacles, or containers, made of suitable sheet material, such, for example, as the fiber board, cardboard, or paper board commonly known as carton stock.

An object of the invention is the provision of a more simple and satisfactory carton or container having a plurality of separate compartments therein, one of which is adapted to con tain, for example, a food product such as ice cream, and another of which is adapted to contain, for example, a napkin and spoon for use in eating the ice cream, or a different food product, such as cake, to be eaten with the ice cream, or a premium or prize.

Another object of the invention is the provision of such a carton which is made entirely from a. single piece of sheet material.

Still another object is the provision of such a carton so designed and constructed as to require less sheet material than is required for making prior two-compartment cartons of the same s1ze.

A further object is the provision of an improved construction for effectively sealing and strengthening the corners of the carton.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a carton constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of the blank from which the carton of Fig. l is made, showing it in at form;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the carton, with the closure naps closed;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the carton taken longitudinally on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View similar to Fig. 1, showing a modiiied form of construction;

Fig. 6 is a view of the blank from which the carton of Fig. 5 is made, showing the blank in fiat form; v

Fig. 7 is an end elevation of the carton shown in Figs. 5 and 6, with the closure flaps in closed position;

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the carton substantially on the line- 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical section taken substantially on the line 9--9 of Fig. 5, illustrating details of the corner construction., and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken substantially on the line lil-iii of Fig. 9.

The same reference numerals throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

Referring first to the carton illustrated in Figs, l to fl, there is provided according to this embodiment of the invention, a blank suitably cut, scored and folded to provide a bottom 2i, sides 22 and 23 connected to the bottom 2l by the score lines 24 and Z5, respectively, other sides 26 and 21 hingedly connected to the side 22 by the score lines 28 and 29, respectively, and sides 33 and 3| hingedly connected to the side 23 by the score lines 32 and 33, respectively. Bottom sealing iiaps 34 and 35 may also be provided, hingedly connected to the bottom 2i by the score lines 36 and 3l, respectively.

When the blank is folded up and erected, the side flaps 26 and 30 are overlapped with or superimposed upon each other, with the sealing flap 34 between them, the flap 26 being the outermost flap of this side of the carton and the flap 30 being the innermost flap of this side. Similarly, the flap 2l forms the outermost ap of the opposite side Wall of the carton, and the flap 3i the innermost flap of this same side wall, with the sealing flap 35 between these two. The flaps 25, 30 and 34 are suitably secured to each other, adhesively or otherwise, and the flaps 2l', 3| and 35 are likewise suitably secured to each other adhesively or otherwise. The connection between these respective flaps serves to hold the body of the carton in erected position.

The inner flaps 30 and 3! of these two opposite side walls do not extend fully to the top are the upper edges of the flaps 3B and 3l, re- 4 spectively. After the lower part of the carton has been lled with its intended contents, such as ice cream, the flaps lll and 4l are then folded down to extend across the carton to form a partition or septum extending across the carton above the ice cream' or other contents in the bottom part thereof. The partition flaps il@ and 4l may be of sufiicient length so that each of them will extend fully across the entire area of the carton, but they are not necessarily of this size, and may be somewhat shorter, as shown in Figs. l and-f4, in order to save material. In the construr'jtion` here shown, each of the flaps lli and tlwextends across a little more than half of the area `ofthe carton, so that the two flaps overlap with each other and the two of them together form a complete partition dividing the carton into a lower 1nai-n.c0mpartment, andy a;

smaller upper compartment.

Preferably the flaps 40 and 4| are of sufcient width so that when folded down into partitionforming position, the side edges of the aps iit 'tightly against the side walls 22 and '23 of the carton. To assist in supporting the partition flaps at the proper elevation, the side walls 22 and 23 are preferably provided with score lines 46 and 47, respectively, at the elevation of the partition. These score lines 4S and 47 may be pressed, scores pressed from that side of the material which forms the outside of the carton, toward that side which forms the interior surface, so that the sheet material is slightly pressed inwardly along these score lines 46 and 47, to provide slight shoulders which, in some degree, support the edges of the partition flaps 4|] and 4|. If desired, the score lines 46 and 47 may be so formed as to provide even more pronounced shoulders by forming a pressed score pressed inwardly from the outside toward the inside surface, and immediately above it a pressed score pressed outwardly from the inner surface of the sheet material toward the outer surface, thus bending the sheet material at this point into a slight Z-shape to make a more pronounced shoulder for supporting the partition naps.

Suitable closure flaps are provided for closing the top of the upper compartment. These may include an inner pair of closure flaps D and 5|, hingedly connected to the upper edges of the side flaps 2S and 27, respectively, by score lines 52 and 53, respectively, and also an outer pair of closure flaps 56 and 57, hingedly connected to the upper edges of the side walls 22 and 23, respectively, by the score lines 53 and 59, respectively. The score lines 52, 53, 58 and 59 are all substantially at a common elevation when the carton is erected, as shown in Fig. 1, and are at an elevation materially above that of the score lines 42, 43, 46 and 47. Thus when the closure flaps 5i), 5|, 56 and 57 are folded down to close the top of the carton, there will be a substantial space or upper compartment within the carton, between these closure flaps and the partition flaps il and 4 i, and this space or upper compartment may receive a small spoon and a folded paper napkin, for example, or a piece of cake, or any other desired contents.

The closure flaps 56 and 5|, like the partition aps 4Q and fil, may extend, if desired, across the entire area of the top of the container, but it is not necessary that they do so. In the particular embodiment here illustrated, these flaps 5|) and 5| are of such length that they overlap with each other and together close the entire area, but neither flap alone extends all the way across the top. The flaps are suiiciently wide, however, so that their side edges make a snug t with the sides 22 and 23 of the carton.

The inner pair of flaps 59 and 5| is preferably folded down into closed position rst, and then the outer pair of flaps 56 and 57 is folded down into closed position above the flaps 5B and 5|, and the naps 55 and 57 are suitably secured to each other in any desired way, to hold the closure in closed position until it is desired to open it. Any known means for detachably securing flaps 55 and 57 to each other may be employed. For example, the iiap 56 may be provided with a tongue 52 and the iiap 57 may be provided with a slot 53 through which the tongue 62 may be inserted when the flaps are closed, the resulting friction being sufcient to prevent accidental withdrawal of the tongue from the slit. If a somewhat tighter holding means is desired for holding the closure iiaps in closed position, the flaps 56 and 57 may be provided with tongues and slits of the form illustrated in connection with the flaps 26 and 27 of United States Patent No. 1,950,934, granted March 13, 1934, for an invention of John P. Shearer. Such form of ap interlocking means, according to the Shearer patent, is illustrated in connection with the other embodiment of the present invention, shown in Figs. 5 to 10 of the present drawings.

It is seen that the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4 provides a simple and effective two-compartment carton, using but a small amount of sheet material in its construction, and made entirely from a single piece of such sheet material. Such a carton is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and highly satisfactory in use.

It is noted that the upper or smaller compartment of this carton is not fully sealed by overlapping joints at all points, but is sealed only by approximately abutting edges at two corners, these being the corners at the two side edges of the wall 23. In most cases, any slight gap or opening which occurs at these two corners of the upper compartment is of no consequence, since the lower or main compartment is nevertheless fully sealed at all times. But for some special purposes, a more completely sealed upper compartment is desired, and when such is the case the carton may be constructed in the slightly modied form illustrated in Figs. 5 to 10, inclusive, since this form requires only a slight additional amount of sheet material.

Most of the features of the carton illustrated in Figs. 5 to 10 may be identical with the corresponding features of the previously described form of carton. To avoid unnecessary repetition, the parts which are the same in both forms of carton will not be again described, but only the differences between the two forms will be described. For convenience in following the construction, the parts in the embodiment of Figs. 5 to are indicated by the same reference numerals used for the respective corresponding parts in the embodiment of Figs. l to 4 raised by |80; that is, part |2| of this second embodiment corresponds to part 2| of the previous embodiment, parts |22 and |23 of the second embodiment correspond respectively to the parts 22 and 23 of the rlrst embodiment, and so forth.

In this second embodiment, the partition flaps Ill@ and I4! are made somewhat larger than the partition naps il@ and 4| of the previous embodiment, so that they cover or extend across the entire area of the carton except for a small space at one corner thereof. At one corner of the ap |45, a section |75 is cut away from what would otherwise be the area of the partition iiap, and a similar section |7| is cut away from the area of the blank which would otherwise form` part of the partition flap Mi The cuts on three sides of the section |79 are indicated at |72, |74 and |73, while the corresponding cuts on three sides of the section i's'i are indicated at |73, |75 and |77, in Fig. 6. The sections |79 and |7| are not cut on the fourth sides but remain. hingedly attached to the upper part of the wall |23 by means of the hinge score lines |32 and |33, respectively. The cuts |75 and |77 may be omitted.

When the box is erected from the flat blank form of Fig. 6 to the complete erected form, the

sections and |1| are so placed during the erecting process, that they will lie against the inner surfaces of the end walls |26 and |21, respectively, and they are secured to these end walls by suitable means such as adhesive. Thus, instead of a mere butt joint, likely to spring open slightly, at the top corners of the edges |32 and |33 of the carton, the construction just described provides a well sealed, strong lap joint at these corners, which can not spring open and which thus keeps the upper compartment of the carton well sealed at all corners.

When the partition flaps |40 and I4| are-folded down across the erected container, each ap will extend across the entire area of the body of the container except for the opening in the corner of the flap, from which the portion |10 or |1|, respectively, was cut. However, the flap Mil will extend across the opening from which the portion li! was cut in the ilapi |45 and the flap |4| will extend across the opening from which the portion was cut in the iiap |40, so that the partition formed by these ilaps will nevertheless be complete and will have no openings therethrough.

The upper pair of closure aps |56 and |51 may be provided, like the closure flaps 56 and 51 previously described, with any suitable fastening means for holding the flaps in closed position.

This fastening means may be similar to the tongue 5L and slot 63 in the form previously described, or, as here shown, it may be in the form of the interlocking parts disclosed in the previously mentioned Shearer Patent No. 1,950,934. As shown in Fig. 6, the flap |56 is provided with a large tongue |39 and with a smaller tongue |B| within it, while the ilap |51 is provided with a slit having end portions |82 and a central U- shaped portion |83. When the closure flaps are closed, the wide tongue is inserted through the full width of the slit |82, while the small tongue i8! enters the U-shaped part |83 of the slit and interlocks therewith, all as disclosed in said Shearer patent. Small cuts |85 at the inner corners of the tongue |8 interlock with the ends of the slit |82. This provides a particularly efcient and sturdy interlock for the closure flaps which can nevertheless be readily unfastened when desired.

Except for the differences above mentioned, all of the parts of the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 5 to l0 inclusive, may be identical with the corresponding parts of the embodiment illustrated in Figs. l to 4 inclusive, and may operate in the same way. It will be noted that in both forms of the invention, the entire two-compartment carton is made of a single unitary piece or blank of sheet material, such as carton stock, or the like.

While certain embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a number of ways. This application is therefore not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to cover all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention of the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A carton comprising sheet material cut, scored, and folded to provide a bottom wall and a plurality of upright walls rising from said bottoni wall, each of two different upright walls including two layers of sheet material superimposed on each other, the outer one of said two layers of each of said two upright walls extending upwardly to the top of its wall, to closure flap sections, one hingedly secured to the top edge of each of said two outer layers to extend laterally from said top edge across at least a part of the top of said carton in overlapping relation to each other, the inner one of said two layers of each of said two upright walls having an upper edge materially below said top edges of said outer layers, and two partition flap sections, one hingedly Secured to the upper edge of each of said two inner layers to extend laterally from said upper edge across at least a part of the interior of said carton to subdivide the interior at least partially into a plurality of comp-artments.

2. A carton comprising sheet material cut, scored, and folded to provide a bottom wall and a plurality of upright walls rising from said bottom wall, each of two diiferent upright walls including two layers of sheet material superimposed on each other, the outer one of said two layers of each of said two upright walls extending upwardly to the top of its wall, two closure iiap sections, one hingedly secured to the top edge of each of said two outer layers to extend laterally from said top edge across at least a part of the top of said carton in overlapping relation to each other, the inner one of said two layers of each of said two upright walls having an upper edge materially below said top edges of said outer layers, and two partition ilap sections, one hingedly secured to the upper edge of each of said two inner layers to extend laterally from said upper edge across at least a part of the interior of said carton to subdivide the interior at least partially into a plurality of compartments, each of said two partition flap sections extending through less than all of the cross sectional area of the carton and each extending across that part of said cross sectional area across which the other does not extend.

3. A carton comprising sheet material cut, scored, and folded to provide a substantially quadrilateral bottom, two side walls hingedly secured to tow opposite edges of said bottom and extending upwardly therefrom, two other side walls connecting said two first named side walls to each other, each of said other side walls including two overlapped layers of sheet material, the outer layer extending to substantially the same height as the top edges of said two rst named side walls, the inner layer having an upper edge at an elevation materially below said top edges, a partition flap hingedly connected to said upper edge of each of said inner layers. in position to extend laterally from said upper edge across at least a part of the space within said side walls, and closure flap means hingedly secured to the top edges of at least some of said side walls to extend across the top of the carton and close the same at an elevation materially above said partition aps.

4. A carton formed from a single unitary piece of sheet material cut, scored, and folded to provide a substantially quadrilateral wall, two other walls hingedly secured to two opposite edges of said quadrilateral wall and extending for a material distance therefrom at a substantial angle to said quadrilateral wall, two wall flaps hingedly connected to two opposite edges of each of said other walls, each of said wall flaps being overlapped with another wall flap hingedly connected to a different wall to form a wall extending between said two other walls and connecting them to each other, the inner one of each of the overlapped pairs of wall aps having an edge materially closer to said quadrilateral wall than the corresponding edge of the outer one of the overlapped flaps, a partition flap hingedly connected to said edge of each of said inner wall flaps to extend partially across the space within said walls to form. at least in part a partition subdividing said space into a plurality of compartments, and closure flaps hingedly secured to those edges of certain of said walls which are remote from said quadrilateral Wall.

5. A tapered pail formed from a single unitary piece of carton stock out, scored, and folded to provide a substantially rectangular bottom, two side walls hinged to two opposite edges of said bottom and rising therefrom and flaring outwardly away from each other in an upward direction, two inner wall flaps hinged to two opposite upstanding edges of one of said side walls, two outer wall flaps hinged to two opposite upstanding edges of the other of said side walls, each of the outer wall flaps being arranged to lie on the outer side of one of the inner wall flaps and to be connected thereto, both of said inner wall flaps having their upper edges at an elevation substantially below the upper edges of said outer wall flaps, two partition flaps, one hinged to the upper edge of each of said inner wall flaps and each arranged to eX- tend approximately horizontally across at least a part of the area within said pail to form a partition dividing the pail into two compartments, a score line extending approximately horizontally along each of said two side walls at substantially the same elevation as said partition, each of said score lines being pressed inwardly from the outer side of its side wall to provide an inwardly projecting ledge to assist in supporting said partition aps at the proper elevation to form said partition, two closure flaps, one hinged to the upper edge of each of said outer wall flaps, two other Closure flaps, one hinged to the upper edge of each of said side walls, said four closure aps together being arranged, when in closed position, to lie approximately horizontally across the top of said pail to form a movable closure for the top thereof, and means for releasably interlocking two of said closure iiaps with each other to hold the closure in closed position.

WILLIAM H. INMAN. 

